


Uppercuts

by gothammite



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), Birds of Prey (Comic)
Genre: Angst, Boxing, F/M, Family Feels, Grief, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, This is basically my first time writing a fic, Training, and it's generally just if DC gave me control of Babs' arc, eventual kiss, i guess?, we want oracle you guys!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-24 19:50:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14961047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothammite/pseuds/gothammite
Summary: When the Joker stole her mobility, Barbara Gordon thought that she would never walk again. With the new development in technology, the ability to stand—and fight crime—is once again within reach. Per Batman's suggestion, she begins training at a small boxing club in Burnside. But, with a new opportunity at her fingertips, Barbara finds herself at a crossroads: will she resist fate and reclaim her legs, or will she start down a new path?





	Uppercuts

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! I've never written a fanfic before so please be gentle. This is basically the continuity that I would have liked to see at Rebirth.. I do my best to fuse together that sweet, sweet, pre-New 52 continuity and Rebirth.. and basically everything about the Barbara Gordon anthology that I like. I'll include more notes after the chapter. Thanks everyone!

> _[I was born in a thunderstorm/I grew up overnight/I played alone/I played on my own/I survived](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xJrcWtM6jQ) _

Processing everything that had happened was something that Barbara figured would happen in a line.

She had had her fair share of traumatizing things before, while running down the streets of Gotham in a cowl, but this blow took far longer than she remembered any hit taking. The best way she could describe it was bursts, she supposed, as she chewed absentmindedly at her lip. One day, it was fine, and she could exist normally, sleep peacefully, and enjoy her life as it was. But the next, she was in the grocery store spiraling into a breakdown because the corner of a shopping cart hit a freezer door with a particularly loud clap.

She sat back with a short scoff, folding her arms over her chest.

Hopefully, this would be one of the last bricks in the foundation of her comeback.

The door to the doctor's office opened with a soft click, and Barbara glanced up, catching glance of her father as he spun to tap it quietly shut again with his elbow. He offered her a small smile, raising a white styrofoam cup towards her.

"Got it." he said, letting out a sigh. "Took me a while, but.. two mediocre office coffees, here ya go."

She chuckled, leaning forward in her chair to take it from him, the warmth already filling her with an immeasurable amount of comfort.

"Thanks, Dad." she replied, her voice still husky with sleep. It had been a while since she had woken up before nine in the morning, but her father had insisted on taking her to what they _hoped_ would be her final appointment. And the 7 AM slot was the only one that worked for the Commissioner of Gotham City, so that was the one that they got.

Barbara cleared her throat and lifted the cup to her lips, letting out a content sigh as the scalding liquid trickled down her throat. The taste was bitter, and the coffee was definitely burnt, even though it was masked by a pretty decent amount of sugar and cream, but she did her best to pretend that she enjoyed it.

Her Dad laughed at her, which made his mustache twitch.

"It's okay, it's bad." he said, and took a generous sip of his own.

Barbara shook her head, running the back of her hand over her mouth.

"Yeah, sorry." she replied. She let out an amused exhale. "How do you _drink_ this stuff?"

He hummed at her with a nod, pulling the cup from his face.

"You get used to it." He shrugged. "You should probably work on that, if you want to be a programmer and all. I can't imagine that they have Chiroptera every morning."

"It's all about where you put your money." she replied, raising the cup towards her lips again. Her eyes were stuck on a spot by the door, pinned there by exhaustion.

Barbara could feel his eyes on her as he sighed, the only sound in the room the idle droning of the air conditioning.

"There's no need to be nervous." he said gently, shoving a hand into the pocket of his coat.

Barbara swallowed back a mouthful of coffee.

"I know." she replied. She cradled the cup in her lap, tracing her thumb along the curve of the lid.

The quiet returned.

".. _are_ you nervous?" her father asked.

A small sigh rippled through her.

"A little." Barbara replied begrudgingly, shaking her head. Her father leaned back against the wall, as if he were bracing himself for an incoming tidal wave.

"This isn't the end of the road, Barbara." he assured her. "This is a preliminary appointment. There don't need to be big decisions today."

She nodded.

"I know." she said. She weathered another sigh and broke her laser-strong stare on the door, glancing up at him wearily. "But there have been so many losses lately, and so.. I don't know. Walking away from this with a go-ahead would be.. really nice."

"But a 'no' here wouldn't be a loss, sweetheart." he insisted, his green eyes bright with hope. "It would be a 'later'. And that's okay."

"I know, I know.." Barbara said, tapping the edge of her thumb against her cup. "I'm just.. itching to do.. something again."

"Uh-huh." her father said coolly, lifting his eyes to the wall above the doctor's desk. "'Something'."

She didn't know how to stifle his obvious frustration, so she said nothing, glancing down at her hands. The discussion with her father of her after-dark alter ego was a rough one, to say the least (especially because it wasn't news to him at all), and the presence of Batgirl was constantly eating at the back of her mind ever since. Most of the time, it didn't really bother Barbara, but it was moments like this that forced her to address the elephant in the room. And she couldn't blame her father's annoyance, either, which made it worse. Her guilt hung over her, thick and loud, dominating her emotions.

_I've known since the first night you put on the costume and snuck out of your bedroom window with Dick Grayson._

Ugh. And Dick was a whole 'nother story. Barbara took an extra deep swig of her coffee to purge that from her head.

"How is Alysia?" her father asked, clearly detouring from the conversation before.

"Good. Good." Barbara replied, a bit too excitedly, rubbing the heel of her hand into her eye and stifling a yawn. "I miss her. It's weird when you go from living with someone to living at home again all of a sudden."

He nodded.

"But, she's living with her girlfriend now, and it was right for me to come home, so.." She nodded. "We're good. We still talk, like, everyday."

The door opened with a quick clack, the doctor poking her head inside. She smiled a bit too brightly for eight in the morning. Barbara hated the bubble of hope that rose in her stomach.

"Hey, guys, I'm back." she said, sliding inside, and shutting the door behind her. She raised the clipboard in her hand triumphantly, nodding. "I have the results for us today."

 

The Batmobile peeled into the Cave like a gunshot, the tires' screaming deescalating over the pavement as it slowed into place. The sound was all too familiar, echoing off of the cavernous walls; and all at once, felt like a distant memory, all these months later. It had been a spur of the moment decision to come to the Batcave, of all places; and, yet, she had anticipated her return for a long time.

Either way, it felt right, as she stood, shrouded in a mix of darkness and the glow of the computers behind her. It felt right to be back.

It was like clockwork, as the doors to the Batmobile opened, and the great and feared Batman stepped out, cowl and all, the black cape billowing around him. But what she wasn't expecting was the small, yellow and red-clad boy that peeked around the curve of the car, and she felt a pang of uncertainty.

Barbara pushed it aside, however, as Alfred spoke beside her.

"Master Bruce, you have a visitor." he announced, hardly masking the brimming warmth in his voice. She glanced at him with a small grin, a hand tracing nervously over the strap of her bag. His eyes skirted towards her, his poise just as regal as ever.

"Not a visitor, Alfred." Batman's hands rose towards his cowl and pushed it up and over his head, the face of Bruce Wayne smiling at her. "A friend."

The boy—the _new_ Robin—stepped out of the car sheepishly, as if he weren't sure if he were allowed to, as Bruce crossed towards her, his hand extended to her. She took it with a firm shake, the grin on her face hardly contained.

"Barbara." he said. "Welcome back."

"Hey, Bruce." Barbara said with a nod. "Thanks."

She felt like it was her first day all over again, as her excitement bubbled up even higher in her throat, threatening to overtake her; but she couldn't help it. You can't really top the wonder of stepping into the Batcave. _Though many have tried._

A flash of red and yellow caught her eye as Robin approached. He was actually older than she had anticipated, which felt weird to her, after years of watching pre-teens don the 'R' symbol. And her best guess at his age only climbed when he removed his mask, his blue eyes cautious.

"Barbara, this is Tim." Bruce said, following her eyes. He fixed Tim with a pointed look. "Tim, this is—"

"Batgirl." Tim interrupted, a burst of surprise popping in her chest. Barbara blinked at him. "You're Batgirl, right?"

Barbara glanced at Bruce, doing her best to coax her, _What the hell?_ expression to a minimal, _Wow, that's impressive face_ , but Bruce was halfway through his version of a chuckle.

Reading the room, Tim offered Barbara his hand, a smile close behind it.

"..nice to meet you, Tim." she said, taking his hand. As she did, his nervousness softened, and his face broke out into a full-on grin, excitement lightening his features.

An electronic _beep!_ stabbed through the air, and Tim withdrew his hand, backpedaling away.

"I have to go. My dad's gonna be up in an hour." he said, his hand already unhooking the first button of his uniform. "It was nice to meet you, Batgir—Barbara."

Before she could even respond, he turned over his shoulder, and took off.

Barbara chuckled.

"He's..." she started.

"Smart?" he finished for her, his arms folded over his chest. "Yes. He is." He paused for a moment, considering his words before he turned towards her again, his blue eyes brimming with thought. "He reminds me of you, sometimes."

She tried to take it as a compliment, but she couldn't help but notice the elephant in the room as it loomed over them.

"I was surprised to see a Robin, honestly." she said grimly, cutting her eyes towards him. She didn't elaborate on it anymore than that, but she didn't think she needed to.

Bruce's face steeled from warmth to a lukewarm uncertainty.

"He came to me." he said. His eyes skirted towards her legs. "You're standing.”

She gently tapped the back of her neck.

“Implant in my spine.” she explained, her fingers skimming over the bandage. “I’ve been using it increasingly until I could start walking. And, as of this morning.. they've cleared me to start using my legs normally. As in.. walking, and driving and whatnot.”

As much as Barbara would have appreciated an enthusiastic response, Bruce’s cold gaze didn't surprise her.

“Congratulations.” he said with a nod.

Barbara let out a sigh. “I think you and I both know what I am going after here, Bruce.”

“I do.” he replied, turning towards the computers. Bruce tugged his gloves from his hands with careful fingers, clenching and unclenching them pensively. “But I also think we know what my answer is going to be, Barbara.”

She felt her heart plummet.

“Bruce—” she started.

“It’s not a punishment, Barbara.” he said, his hands ghosting over the keyboard. “You know that.”

A rogue flash of anger burned in her chest.

“I’m not taking it like a punishment.” she replied, following him to the monitors. Bruce hardly even glanced up at her. “I’m _taking_ it like you’re ignoring a healthcare professional and benching me longer than necessary.”

She knew why he was, but bringing up Jason didn’t seem like the best move, if she didn’t want to pick a fight.

Bruce began pulling up case files about some gang, already at work right in front of her. Barbara knew that he didn’t mean to mock her—after all, she partially learned the workaholic thing from him—but it felt like he was, and the frustration in her grew. She had to dig her fingernails into her palm just to keep from jamming her fingers into the keys and closing the pages herself.

“You’re not. Ready.” Bruce insisted, dragging a file across one monitor to another and angling his shoulders towards her, his blue eyes dark with their usual, fatherly edge. “This is about keeping you safe.”

“I know my limits, Bruce.” Barbara shot back, shifting her weight restlessly between her feet. “It’s March. It’s a dry spell for Gotham gangs, so I’ll take it slow, and I’ll be ready before May, when things kick into gear again.”

 _Plus, Joker is in Arkham._ she thought.

She drew in a long breath, closing her eyes and forcing her anger farther down in her chest. When she opened her eyes again, Bruce was staring at her, clearly ready to shoot down any other proposal she suggested.

“I wouldn’t be full-throttle immediately.” Barbara said calmly, untwining her arms from her chest. “I would take it slow, and I would train, and I would start small.. patrols on the Upper Eastside of Gotham. Minor drug busts. Nothing major.”

Bruce stood up straight, his shoulders pressed back slightly, which usually stood for stop-asking-me-and-give-up-already.

“I’m not ‘benching’ you _just_ because I think you’re physically not ready, Barbara.” he said. “I’m doing it because I think you need time to weigh your options.”

She frowned at him.

“What?”

“In times of tragedy, we get a moment to reset ourselves, and reevaluate our choices.” he explained, his voice taut. “And I want to give you more time to evaluate yours.”

Barbara said nothing, her green eyes skirting away nervously. But he leaned towards her, his arms snaking over his chest again, following her gaze as it edged away.

“You are so ready to rush towards Batgirl again. But the implant has serious risks.”

She shot him a surprised frown. A part of her wasn’t shocked when he barely blinked at her, his eyebrows quirking up at her challengingly.

“The implant was experimental, and expensive.” he said. “Wayne Enterprises made a donation to the program to help push it along.”

 _Of course._ she thought. _Why would I think any part of my life would be free from Bruce Wayne?_

Outwardly, though, Barbara nodded, stiffly, her irritation over taken by gratitude.

“Thank you.” she managed.

“But that donation wasn’t for you to return immediately.” he continued sternly. “It was to give you the chance to choose.”

She shook her head.  

“Between what?” she asked.

“Dinah Lance has told me numerous times how thrilled she was to work with you.” Bruce replied, almost smugly.

Barbara let out a breath, a rush of understanding falling over her. It hadn’t even been two weeks since Black Canary had reached out for her help with the Blockbuster gang when it spilled over in West Gotham City. With Barbara’s reconnaissance and Dinah’s execution, the project had given her a nice break from trying to ignore everything that was going on. It had been.. fun, for the few days that it lasted, and she would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy it.

“I.. was also thrilled.” she said.

“I think my point here is to really, truly consider what good you can do outside of the cowl.” he elaborated, his brow furrowed. “And I can’t make that decision for you.”

She nodded. _That_ she could agree with.

He sighed, reaching towards the counter to scoop up a pen and notepad, scribbling down with a newfound sense of purpose.

“But I can give you some guidelines for returning, if that’s what you really want.” he said, tearing the note from the page and offering it to her.

Confusedly, she took it, glancing down at it. Emblazoned on it was a block-lettered address, a phone number scrawled just below it.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“A boxing club in East Burnside.” he replied, clicking his pen twice for good measure. “Just over the bridge. I have contacts there. They have a good blend of trauma training and general training, and I want you there at least once a day.”

 _At least once a day_. She nodded, ignoring the weariness that reared its head in her chest.

“Okay. Yeah.” she said, a smile creeping over her face. She realized her hesitation was shining through, and she widened her smile, nodding. “Yes. Yeah, thank you, Bruce.”

“You’re welcome.” he replied. “You should head home. 4 AM isn’t exactly the greatest time to be driving in Gotham City.”

“You’re right.” Barbara replied, a sigh rippling through her. She gestured towards him with the note. “Thank you. Again. I’ll think about everything.”

“Good.” Bruce nodded. He fixed her with a pointed look. “And, Barbara. It is good to have you back.”

She smiled, a real, genuine smile that spread over her face. After everything that had happened to Bruce recently—losing Jason, dealing with the attack on Barbara and her father, and all of the fallout following his solo outing on his own—it was refreshing to see him somewhat content. Even if it was a little strange, especially seeing a new Robin. Tim seemed more than capable, and well-meaning, and _excited_.

It had been a while since anyone had been excited to be in the cave.

As she turned to go, she couldn’t help but feel obligated to ask Bruce about even a fraction of what obviously hung in the air around them. Barbara didn’t want to fight—that much she knew. But there was something about this new chapter of the Bat mantle that felt so much more serious than before. And she didn’t know how to gage the conversation about it.

Burying her nerves, she spun to face him. He was already waiting for her, his blue eyes expectant, which only forced her to summon more courage.

“Do you know where Dick is?” Barbara asked. She figured it was the most non-combatant way to bring it up.

His face hardly even shifted.

“Blüdhaven.” Bruce replied. His voice was already far more grim than it was before. She said nothing in reply, waiting for him to go on. “He left the Teen Titans and wanted to start somewhere new.”

Barbara stared at him, trying to formulate her words before they got her in trouble.

“Did he tell you that, or did you find that out yourself?” she asked.

A flicker of something crossed over his face.

“He’s my son, Barbara.” he said firmly. “It’s my responsibility to know my family’s whereabouts and whether or not he’s safe.”

“No, of course.” she replied, shaking her head. She knew he wasn’t just talking about Dick. “I didn’t mean it negatively. I just haven’t.. heard from him, in a while.”

At first, Bruce said nothing.

“The past six months have been a difficult time for all of us.” he finally said, softly, his hand clenching around the pen in his palm. “Even Dick.”

Barbara nodded.

“I know.” she replied.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi again! This is mostly just exposition and all, but I promise the next few chapters should get a little spicier (and each will have songs along with it; mostly just to give everything a state of mind). I don't know when I'll update, but I'm on an inspiration trip right now, so who knows! If you want to find me, you can look me up on Tumblr @gothammite.


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